Former Astronauts Protest NASA's Global Warming Activism

The theory of a human cause for global warming received another serious setback as dozens of former NASA scientists and astronauts called upon the American space agency to rely on actual evidence — rather than computer models — in the study of the controversial theory.

The theory of a human cause for global warming received another serious setback as dozens of former NASA scientists and astronauts called upon the American space agency to rely on actual evidence — rather than computer models — in the study of the controversial theory.

For years, NASA’s over reliance on dubious computer models has been a source of criticism; as reported last July for The New American, a published, peer-reviewed study had found that the observable data were not in agreement with the projections provided by the models, in part because the models were not accurately accounting for the Earth’s ability to radiate heat:

The sensitivity of the climate system to an imposed radiative imbalance remains the largest source of uncertainty in projections of future anthropogenic climate change.... While the satellite-based metrics for the period 2000–2010 depart substantially in the direction of lower climate sensitivity from those similarly computed from coupled climate models, we find that, with traditional methods, it is not possible to accurately quantify this discrepancy in terms of the feedbacks which determine climate sensitivity. It is concluded that atmospheric feedback diagnosis of the climate system remains an unsolved problem, due primarily to the inability to distinguish between radiative forcing and radiative feedback in satellite radiative budget observations.

With proponents of the theory that human activity is the cause of global warming becoming increasingly defensive of their flawed theory, the joint letter signed by NASA veterans — including several heroes of the space program — is one more blow to a theory which has been losing ground in the realm of public opinion. And the letter is particularly critical of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, where both director Jim Hansen and climatologist Gavin Schmidt have been particularly vocal proponents of the theory of manmade climate change. As reported at BusinessInsider.com, the letter, signed by 49 former NASA scientists and astronauts, reads as follows:

Dear Charlie, We, the undersigned, respectfully request that NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) refrain from including unproven remarks in public releases and websites. We believe the claims by NASA and GISS, that man-made carbon dioxide is having a catastrophic impact on global climate change are not substantiated, especially when considering thousands of years of empirical data. With hundreds of well-known climate scientists and tens of thousands of other scientists publicly declaring their disbelief in the catastrophic forecasts, coming particularly from the GISS leadership, it is clear that the science is NOT settled.

The unbridled advocacy of CO2 being the major cause of climate change is unbecoming of NASA’s history of making an objective assessment of all available scientific data prior to making decisions or public statements.

As former NASA employees, we feel that NASA’s advocacy of an extreme position, prior to a thorough study of the possible overwhelming impact of natural climate drivers is inappropriate. We request that NASA refrain from including unproven and unsupported remarks in its future releases and websites on this subject. At risk is damage to the exemplary reputation of NASA, NASA’s current or former scientists and employees, and even the reputation of science itself.

For additional information regarding the science behind our concern, we recommend that you contact Harrison Schmitt or Walter Cunningham, or others they can recommend to you.

Critics have been quick to point out that none of the scientists and astronauts is a climatologist — but then, none of them claims to be, so the accusation of “fake expertise” is flatly absurd. However, all of them are well-versed in the scientific method, and they know that environmental politics, and not science, is what is driving the global warming agenda. And they know that the "climate" most immediately under consideration is found within the space agency itself, where those who are critical of global warming within NASA dare not speak out.

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